The Photography of Wing Young Huie

Wing Young Huie is an incredible photographer based in the Twin Cities who is always creating unique glimpses of life that upend your expectations. He’s well known for a couple of books that explore urban life, including Frogtown in St. Paul and Lake Street in Minneapolis.

He’s also released twovolumes of photos on University Avenue, an urban lifeline that connects St. Paul and Minneapolis. For about seven years we lived within minutes of this urban corridor and for a couple years I took the 16 route bus every day which follows University Avenue and is the most used bus route in the Twin Cities (and why lightrail is going in on University).

This University Avenue Project involved engaging people with questions and doing more than just documenting life. The project was also displayed along University Avenue, in some cases projected in giant format on the side of buildings.

MPR recently did a an Art Heroes Photo Gallery with Huie, collecting some amazing and engaging photos. Here are a couple of my favorites:

“I’m not a good bank robber, but I’m a great big brother.”“I dream of my daughter’s future.”

It’s cool seeing these glimpses of life in the Twin Cities, but more than just glimpses, they’re photos that push back. The photo subjects are given a voice, adding a new dimension to the standard photograph. It’s a great little collection. Love this town.

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The personal site of Kevin D. Hendricks: 50% ideas I can’t get out of my head, 40% cool causes, projects and stories I want to share, and 10% stuff. Since 1998. Kevin is a writer and editor with his company, Monkey Outta Nowhere, in St. Paul, Minn.